Page 53 of Road To Runes

Hecate reached out a paw and I held out my hand to her. She placed her paw in my palm."Get three of your empty jars."

The ones I had prepared with enchantments to house stolen powers? What did she need with those?

But I didn't question her, and pushed through the bookcase to my workspace. Grabbing three empty jars out of the wicker basket by the cabinet, I hurried back to the bed.

"Open them,"Hecate instructed, slowly getting up.

I did as she asked and placed them on the bed next to her. Hecate's entire body rippled, her back arching, and she bobbed her head as if she was about to eject a hairball.

A ball of light travelled up her throat, shining even through her big fluffy coat, and with one final retch, Hecate vomited it into one of the jars.

"Ew, Hec. Whatisthat?" I asked, leaning in to get a better look.

But I immediately drew back again as Hecate resumed her awful retching. She continued to puke two more balls of light, one into each of the empty jars. When the third fell into the jar, Hecate toppled onto her side, panting.

"Hec." I picked her up, and this time she didn't fight me as I cradled her in my arms. "What just happened?"

Hecate licked her lips, meowed softly, and promptly fell asleep, purring. Well, at least she was okay.

Trying not to jostle her too much, I leaned forward again to see what it was she had just vomited up. In all three of the jars, the little balls of light flashed with images, just like the memories we had seen at the Franklin house.

My blood ran cold. Hecate hadstolenthree of the Franklins' memories.

Chapter 27

"Hec… those had better not be what I think they are," I said. But I already knew. I could see for myself without Hecate's confirmation. I just hoped with all of my heart I was somehow mistaken. "Hec!"

I shook her awake, and she yowled at me, swiping with a clawless paw at my face. She pressed it to my cheek to communicate her feelings in a less violent manner.

"Leave me alone, I'm tired...and I'm just a baby."

"Babies don't steal high value stuff from ridiculously rich people," I said, staring down at her. "What were you thinking?"

Hecate's pupils grew larger and she mewled and purred, tapping my cheek with her paw. Damn it. It was impossible to stay mad at her like this.

"Don't you pull the cute act on me." I raised her up a little closer to my face. "Whydid you do this?"

"I didn't do it on purpose, I didn't even know they were in me or I would have said something."

I squeezed my eyes shut. Did I really believe that the kleptomaniac hadn't stolen these memories? It was possible, but unlikely.

"Are you telling me the truth, Hec?" I asked.

"Yes.They must have gotten into me when I was smashing their containers."

I bit down on my bottom lip and deposited Hecate onto my pillow, where she promptly curled up and went to sleep. Either she was exhausted or didn't care about what this meant. I chose to believe it was the former.

"Bea?" Penny's voice travelled through my door. "Is Hec okay?"

I hurried to the door just as she got there and ushered her inside, shutting and locking the door behind her. The three jars on the bed immediately drew Penny's attention, but she made her way over to Hecate instead.

"What's going on?" she asked. "What are those things?"

"Those..." I ran both hands through my hair and flattened them to my scalp. "...are three of the memories the Franklins had stored in their house. Hec just threw them up."

Penny's mouth fell open and she did a double take. "Excuse me?"

"Apparently it was an accident," I said. "But that doesn't change the fact we have three important things that the Franklin family might be looking for."

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